What qualifications do you need to work as an SEO analyst? What will be the wages and work opportunities in 2022? Take a look at a comprehensive overview of this profession.
The SEO analyst is one of the most demanding professions accessible in the field of digital marketing.
When you work as an SEO analyst, you’re responsible for gathering and organizing data about your company’s or customers’ websites’ performance, interpreting what it all means for them in their market niches, and offering solutions to assist them to reach their business objectives.
Because it’s such a large task, SEO analysts must have a well-rounded skill set in a variety of areas to succeed.
Fortunately, owing to the technical nature of the work and the abilities necessary to accomplish it, SEO analyst positions in the United States are normally well rewarded, and the demand for them in 2022 is expected to be high.
What Is An SEO Analyst?
When researching the many responsibilities in SEO, you’ll see that the titles of SEO professional and SEO analyst are frequently confused.
While the two roles are linked and even quite similar, think of the SEO analyst as a job that goes beyond the specialist by taking things to a higher level.
The SEO analyst is looking at the broad picture while the SEO specialist is in the weeds, performing the job, applying title tags and H1s, adding structured data to product pages, and uploading fresh content.
Analysts look at the numbers and the facts and decipher what they represent in terms of how the website is doing now and where it needs improvement.
It’s safe to say that your job as an analyst entails doing precisely what your title implies: analyzing websites for SEO quality.
Analysts initially examine the entire website to determine if there is anything obvious from a user-experience aspect that may be improved.
An ineffective or absent CTA lost internal connecting chances, muddled primary navigation, or unoptimized title tags are all possibilities.
In addition, SEO specialists want to determine if the website may benefit from any additional pages or parts, such as service, location, product, blog, FAQ, or testimonial pages.
Most importantly, SEO specialists crawl the entire site for any technological faults that aren’t easily visible to the naked eye.
They examine for issues such as broken pages, redirects, metadata, load time, and structured data using a variety of SEO tools such as Screaming Frog, Semrush, and Google Search Console.
Then, to look at page-speed concerns, Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix are employed, followed by Ahrefs to look at broken backlink chances.
While doing all of this, the SEO analyst is also extensively involved in keyword and competition research to determine which keywords the website should focus on or begin targeting to improve its chances of appearing for relevant queries over its competitors.
However, as crucial as the analytical aspect of the work is, the suggestion section is where things get done.
All of that data all of those keyword volumes and intents, all of those SEO aspects that they’ve poured over for days or weeks has to be able to be translated into real-world suggestions and tactics for their employer or client portfolio.
After that, the customer would adopt the SEO analyst’s recommendations and, ideally, begin enjoying the benefits within a few months.
Essential Skills Of An SEO Analyst
I’m not trying to be amusing here, but being an SEO analyst necessitates having a mind that goes toward…the analytical.
It’s not enough to learn and comprehend what makes a good website and conduct research using various SEO tools.
A good SEO analyst must be able to approach a website with a logical and thorough investigation perspective.
Soft skills can always be taught, but they are more of a personal-growth activity with no clearly defined milestones.
As a result, it might be challenging for someone who isn’t analytical to become analytical at the level demanded of an SEO analyst.
Having said that, below are the fundamental talents of an SEO analyst, divided down into hard and soft categories:
Skills that are Difficult to Acquire
- Advanced understanding of SEO best practices.
- A thorough understanding of how technical SEO works.
- The capacity to do keyword research as well as competitor analysis.
- Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Semrush, Ahrefs, SpyFu, GTmetrix, PageSpeed Insights, and Screaming Frog are examples of SEO tools.
- WordPress, Squarespace, Shopify, Drupal, Wix, HubSpot, and Magento are just a few of the most popular CMSs.
- Content marketing, subject research, and content auditing expertise are required.
- Understanding link building, backlinks, and the issues that come with it.
- Ability to keep up with SEO best practices.
Skills that aren’t hard to get by
- The ability to think critically.
- Curiosity and consideration.
- The ability to think critically.
- Problem-solving in a novel way.
- Organization.
- Time management is an important skill.
- Oral and written communication that is effective.
- Interpersonal abilities
What Experience Or Certifications Are Required/Helpful?
A simple job description for an SEO analyst may be found on Glassdoor.
SEO analyst positions often need candidates to have a degree in a relevant discipline, such as computer science or information technology, according to the job and employer review website.
A bachelor’s degree in marketing or business is required for other SEO analyst professions.
According to the same Glassdoor job description, the majority of SEO analysts (60 percent) have two to four years of experience.
It might be challenging to jump straight in and learn how to be an SEO analyst. The talents required to execute a good job must be developed through time and via harsh lessons learned from experience.
After two to four years in that position, seeing a wide range of websites come in for SEO audits, I’d say the SEO analyst is on the verge of becoming an expert.
When it comes to the credentials I would recommend to anyone interested in becoming an SEO analyst, the following courses are a no-brainer:
1. Google Analytics Academy Courses
- Beginner’s Guide to Google Analytics.
- Google Analytics with advanced features.
- Google Analytics for Power Users is a guide for those who want to get the most out of Data Studio is an introduction to the program.
- Fundamentals of Google Tag Manager.
2. Hubspot SEO Certification Course: Hubspot SEO Certification Course: Hubspot SEO Certification Course:
- Hubspot SEO Certification Course:
3. The Semrush Academy’s SEO courses
- Semrush SEO Toolkit is a collection of SEO tools created by Semrush.
- Semrush can help you assess your online visibility.
- Keyword research and competitor analysis.
- On-page and technical SEO are two types of SEO.
- Link building is a term that refers to the process of Tracking your rank.
- Ross Tavendale conducts a Semrush site audit.
- Bastian Grimm discusses technical SEO.
- Greg Gifford teaches SEO fundamentals, keyword research, backlink management, mobile SEO, and local SEO.
- Brian Dean discusses content-driven SEO.
4. Ahrefs Academy’s Courses
- Course on Ahrefs Certification.
- Course on Search Engine Optimization.
What Does an SEO Analyst’s Salary Look Like?
If you want to work as an SEO analyst, you’re in luck, since the average income in the United States is $63,058, according to ZipRecruiter.
That figure is somewhat lower, at $62,987, according to Glassdoor.
Meanwhile, according to Income.com, the national average salary for an SEO analyst is $71,101, with the majority of workers earning between $64,301 and $77,601.
However, like with any employment, the wage range will vary depending on a variety of criteria, such as the size of the firm, the geographic region, and your experience.
SEO Analyst Job Outlook In 2022
The possibilities for this position look to be fairly bright, which is yet another gain for today’s SEO analyst.
In the United States, a job search for “SEO analyst” yielded 975 results on Indeed.
There were 592 full-time jobs, 566 jobs that earned more than $50,000, and 291 remote jobs.
It’s worth noting that the majority of these jobs (553 of them) were for mid-level positions, even though most of the individual articles I looked at when I searched for “mid-level” said that the candidate needed two to four years of expertise in SEO or research and data analysis.
Pearson, Deloitte, Angi, LendingTree, and Merkle were among the firms that advertised jobs on Indeed.
A similar job search on LinkedIn yielded 966 SEO analyst openings. There were 866 full-time jobs, 509 paid above $40,000, and 535 on-site jobs, followed by 364 distant jobs.
The majority of the 966 SEO analyst positions on LinkedIn, 522, were at the associate level.
According to what I noticed when I looked at the job advertisements, the needed degree of experience was between zero and two years.
The Home Depot, Thriveworks, Havas Media Group, and Vox Media were among the companies that advertised job openings on LinkedIn.
The Final Word
There’s no denying that SEO analyzers have a difficult job.
Pouring through websites to figure out what’s wrong with them, examining data for solutions therein, and reporting their results in easy-to-understand ways for organizations and clients requires a lot of critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and SEO know-how.
A bachelor’s degree in a related discipline is normally necessary for SEO analyst positions, however, that isn’t always the case.
In the saturated market for their expertise, these individuals may earn upwards of $50,000 depending on the business and area.
If data analysis and SEO are two of your professional passions, you might be able to find the ideal job as an SEO analyst.
